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Altitude Awareness

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:39:03 GMT

ALTITUDE AWARENESS

At City Drug, we welcome a considerable number of tourists and other visitors to the Fort Collins area year-round. We’re a popular destination for hiking, climbing, bouldering, cycling and much more. Sitting at roughly 4,982 feet, we’re nearly a mile closer to the sun…and we’re a far cry from sea level, for sure! Tourists and visitors to Fort Collins can expect to feel some mild symptoms of altitude sickness when they come here from lower altitudes or sea level: headache, dry mouth, lightheadedness, fatigue, nausea, and insomnia or interrupted sleep.

Stronger altitude sickness, known at Acute Mountain Sickness or AMS, means exhibiting all of these signs, plus nosebleeds and possibly vomiting. With these forms of altitude sickness, rest and time for recovery is vital.

Many of these symptoms resolve on their own after a few hours, a few days, or upon returning home. While you’re here, though, they can be rather unpleasant to contend with. In addition to hydrating yourself AND ensuring your electrolytes are replenished (we love Pedialyte for electrolyte replacement), and using an NSAID, like ibuprofen or naproxen sodium, City Drug carries several altitude helpers you might consider packing along with you on hikes or other outdoor adventures…along with plenty of electrolyte replacement and water:

Boost Oxygen: canned oxygen can actually help the symptoms of altitude sickness considerably by giving your body and brain a much-needed boost of pure oxygen. Available in a variety of flavors and sizes, Boost makes it easy to keep oxygen with you as you’re on the go.

Altitude Adjustment: A proprietary blend of vitamin C and herbal supplements, Altitude Adjustment helps your body use oxygen more efficiently. When at higher altitudes, Altitude Adjustment can improve the various symptoms of altitude sickness considerably.

Altitude sickness can present in severe forms, however. Generally, the higher you go and the longer you stay there, the greater the likelihood is for altitude sickness to worsen in severity. High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) and High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) can both appear quickly and may incapacitate the person experiencing them. The fix for both HAPE and HACE is to immediately move the person exhibiting those symptoms down the mountain, to descend in altitude as quickly as possible. This can hasten recovery from those symptoms very quickly if they are able to descend.

HAPE and HACE, however, are not frequently developed at Fort Collins’ altitude, or most altitudes found in the Rockies. These types of altitude sickness are seen much more frequently in areas like the upper Himalayan Mountains and those who try to ascend their peaks. While it is possible to develop severe altitude sickness virtually anywhere you’re ascending into an uncomfortable altitude zone, it’s unlikely that you’ll develop anything too severe.

If you see a doctor about your experience with AMS, you may be offered certain prescription remedies that many find quite helpful. One is called acetazolamide, previously known by its brand name Diamox. Acetazolamide helps your body adjust to altitude and breathe more easily at higher altitudes. Several other options that may be offered to you can include dexamethasone and ibuprofen, ibuprofen especially if you have an AMS headache.

Read more about AMS, HAPE, and HACE here . Ultimately we want you to enjoy Colorado like those of us who are lucky enough to live here year-round. If you start feeling lightheaded or dizzy, sit down as quickly as possible and rest. Drink lots of fluids and hang out in groups of people so that help is always nearby. After a few days, your experience with AMS will likely have cleared up completely.

Top 5 Healthy Tips for a Joyous Colorado Summer

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 16:41:15 GMT

Top 5 Healthy Tips for a Joyous Colorado Summer

Colorado is renowned amongst the United States specifically for being the healthiest state in the Union. Coloradans are generally more active than the citizens in many other states; our year-round beautiful weather and thousands of miles of wilderness trails, camping areas, and hiking, fishing, skiing, climbing, and various other outdoor activities beckon us outdoors as much as possible. Summertime is an especially popular time for outdoor enjoyment in Colorado, with long, lovely days and cool, cozy evenings.

Top 5 Healthy Tips for a Joyous Colorado Summer

Unfortunately, so much outdoor activity can end up in accidents and injuries at times. From sunburn to sprained joints, it’s important to safeguard your activities as much as possible to ensure your safety and the safety of everyone else participating. Here are our top five tips for surviving summertime unscathed:

1. Make hydration your top priority. Since it’s summer, you’ll be sweating a lot more than during other seasons, for the most part, but also: you’re in Colorado, so you’re around a mile or more closer to the sun than in other places around the country. We live in an alpine desert, and the elevation in particular creates a major battle to stay hydrated. Make sure you are properly hydrated, too: if you’re only drinking water and starting to feel a little woozy, it’s probably time to switch to an electrolyte drink instead of only water.

Drinking too much water can throw off your electrolyte balance, and while it’s generally difficult to do that, hot, sweaty activities at altitude are just the ticket for such a concern to arise. Start every day with an 8 oz glass of water and keep a water bottle or water and electrolytes near you throughout the day and drink as often as you think to do so. Altitude sickness can progress quickly from feeling a little tired and sluggish on the trail to having to be carried down and hospitalized, so take it easy, don’t overdo it, and make water and electrolytes your best friends.

2. Enjoy the sun…responsibly. Laying out in the Colorado sunshine is a simple recipe for summertime bliss. Again, however, our proximity to the sun, the thinness of the air surrounding us and our tender human skin don’t offer enough protection from the mighty sun’s rays, so plan accordingly. Wear sunscreen daily, and reapply it often when enjoying outdoor activities of any kinds, but especially those involving water and/or lots of sweating! Take your time easing into activities and keep them at an enjoyable pace without straining yourself too hard so that you can enjoy the sun without accidentally giving yourself heat exhaustion or heatstroke.

3. Eat light and fresh all season long. Summer brings with it such a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables as to make the other seasons jealous with their paltry offerings. From Palisade peaches to cherries, berries and grapes, to a wealth of melons in every color and size, to fresh, crunchy salad greens and veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and so much more, eating like the king of freshness is easy to accomplish. Availing yourself of fresh produce so close to home makes it even better, with farmer’s markets all over the state bringing the bounty of farm freshness to the public weekly or even more frequently. Delight in the flavors of the season while attending to your waistline by eating light and fresh all summer long.

4. Move your body! With so much of the day available to you for the activities you enjoy the most, get out and get going! Plan an early morning run or ride to maximize the time you have before work, a quick lunchtime hike, and a rock climb or swim in a reservoir following the end of your workday! Stay energized throughout the day by munching on high-quality lunches and snacks, and nutritious fruits and veggies. Plan your activities to take place during less-intense weather; in other words, if that lunchtime hike is looking to be brutally hot, skip it or perhaps do a gym workout and then complete that hike after work instead.

5. Exercise caution. Injury is the number one way to ruin an otherwise perfect summer. Because you don’t wish to be laid up with a broken bone or sprained joint, take it easy and watch what your feet are doing. Make sure you wear the proper attire and footwear for the activity you’re jumping into, and if you don’t have that, it’s okay to sit on the sidelines for a day. If you have equipment that can work for what you’re doing, you can certainly try it out, but truly, exercise an abundance of caution. Make sure you are properly hydrating, sunscreening and that you are appropriately dressed for the activities of the day.

What do you think of these top five tips for enjoying the summer at altitude? What kinds of tips and tricks do you rely on for a safe and enjoyable summer?

CITY DRUG BLOGS

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 21:07:20 GMT

Independent Pharmacies Are Vital to the Communities They Serve

While City Drug’s ownership has changed many times throughout the years, it has always been a local, independent pharmacy, deeply rooted in the Fort Collins community. Local, family-owned, independent pharmacies are an essential component of a successful community health network, especially at a time when chain pharmacies are taking over in communities all across America.

What makes independent pharmacies so essential? Independent pharmacies, simply put, get patient care right. From greater flexibility on pricing to scheduling open hours that make sense for their customers, independent pharmacies work within their communities to provide top-notch service and care. This is especially important when a patient is trying to manage a difficult illness such as cancer, a complex behavioral issue, or treatment that is highly complicated. The pharmacists at independent pharmacies are almost always willing to go the extra mile for the patients who need them.

Independent pharmacies help by:

Forging strong relationships between pharmacists, staff and patients. This often leads to better medication adherence and superior counseling, compared to chain pharmacies.
Demonstrating greater flexibility to adapt to individual patient needs, such as custom compounding and personalized medication synchronization, services less commonly offered by chain pharmacies.
Offering specialized services beyond simple prescription dispensation, including immunizations, diabetes care, blood pressure monitoring, smoking cessation, and home delivery.
Building better relationships with patients overall. This increases the likelihood of medication adherence, or patients taking their medications as prescribed by their doctors. Having their pharmacist as a helpful component of their healthcare team increases positive outcomes for patients.

Overall, it’s easy to understand why local, independent pharmacies are a great option in every shape and size community. What do you think of independent pharmacies?

#pharmacy #localpharmacy #independentpharmacy #communitypharmacy #healthcare

city-drug-v1

Altitude Awareness

ALTITUDE AWARENESS

Top 5 Healthy Tips for a Joyous Colorado Summer

Top 5 Healthy Tips for a Joyous Colorado Summer

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Top 5 Healthy Tips for a Joyous Colorado Summer

CITY DRUG BLOGS

Independent Pharmacies Are Vital to the Communities They Serve